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The Force (advertisement)

viral video advertisement

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ7734750
Source-derived summary

The Force is a television advertisement created by Deutsch Inc. to promote Volkswagen's Passat.

Commercial

Volkswagen had not aired a commercial during the Super Bowl in more than 10 years. In 2011, the company ran two ads, both from advertising agency Deutsch. The other was called "Black Beetle".

The advertisement for the 2012 Volkswagen Passat features a young boy (played by Max Page) in full Darth Vader regalia attempting to use the Force to start a washing machine and a clothes dryer, and to wake the dog and a doll. After he is unsuccessful in those attempts, he is startled to discover that he can start the car, though his father does it using a remote control.

The film was directed by Lance Acord and produced by Park Pictures featuring the musical track "Imperial March" composed by John Williams.

Actors

Max Page had never seen any of the Star Wars films, saying he was too scared. He met James Earl Jones, the voice of Vader in the Star Wars films, in New York City on 7 February.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “The Force (advertisement)” as viral video advertisement. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Force, advertisement and viral.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2011, 2012—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Force, advertisement and viral providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Force (advertisement)”, the useful work is to connect “viral video advertisement” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7734750. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2011 and 2012.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Force (advertisement)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Force (advertisement) primary sources, The Force (advertisement) archive and Force research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Force (advertisement)”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from The Force (advertisement)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.